Linen

[Elnnina]

I have just been asked to look at a linen jacket (unlined) that is so comfortable to wear with a view to making a new one.  Where is the best place to go for linen other than Stones Fabrics in Totnes, Devon?  Can anyone help me please?  Thank you so much.

[Surest1tch]

I had 3 different mixes this year, 3 lots from from www.minerva.co.uk and 3 lots from www.fabricsonline.co.uk I've made 4 lots up so far and have found the linen/ramie mixture from fabrics on line soft and comfortable which does crease but not as badly as pure linen. Delivery is generally quick from Minerva and a little slower from fabrics on line. The pure linen I got from Minerva looks a bit like hessian sacking in texture but may look better when it's been washed.
I don't have any fabric shops nearby so have to travel a long distance to get to one but you can send for samples from both places if your cautious about buying fabric on line.

[Tamnymore]

It's worth checking out the fabworks website here as they have a nice selection of linen and linen mixes at a good price including an interesting linen/cupro mix on special offer.

[Elnnina]

  Surestitch - Thank you so much.  The lady concerned is coming to see me tomorrow, so I have no idea what this jacket looks like nor the colour she is wanting.  I just know it is linen and German made, and so very comfortable.  Like you there are no shops that  sell linen anywhere near here, so it will have to be mail order unless we can find a place she is prepared to visit when out and about on her travels.

I have had some fabric from Minerva and so far so good, but occasionally we do hear of purchases that have been far from right - so it is a gamble.

I am also hoping that if I can create a pattern from this jacket that this lady will do some of the sewing, but I gather she would rather I did it all - we will see.  i will probably make a toile up in calico first for safety's sake.  I know that there is no way the current jacket can be taken apart as she is still wearing this and wants to continue this way.

Just read Tamnymore's reply, thank you too, so that is at least three places for me to look at before tomorrow.

[dolcevita]

If you're after gorgeous quality, but pricey, try Merchant & Mills.  Their fabric is stunning.

[Elnnina]

Thank you Dolcevita, that place sounds and looks promising.  I notice that they refer to themselves as Drapers now that  is a word you do not hear often today.

I saw the lady concerned yesterday and it is a very simple linen cardigan style jacket with long sleeves and two patch pockets.  She wants to see and feel any linen first, so is happy to go to different areas of the UK to see what she can find.  I know she has friends down in Devon so I am sure she will visit Stones in Totnes, and I have a feeling she might like a trip to Rye.

Thanks again all who have suggested some places it really is appreciated.

[Lizzy777]

Have a look here too. They do the most lovely colours and soft linen I have ever felt. It's the washed linen that I am referring too. If you scroll down the page you will see all the colours they do in the washed linen and the pictures are good at showing the softness of the linen too.

I've had samples from there too. You can really nice size samples and the first three samples are free too. Bit pricey but worth it for something special?

There's other linens on the same page too that look good as well.

https://www.tinsmiths.co.uk/fabric/washed-linen.html

lizzy

[Elnnina]

Lizzy  thank you so much for that information I have passed this on to the lady concerned so she can go visiting that area and Doughty’s if she feels like it.

Of course I am now kicking myself about Ledbury, we were there a couple of years ago sheltering from a horrendous thunder storm and downpour, and took cover in an antiques arcade where I came across a German antique sewing machine that was so pretty, it had a shuttle bobbin and was a hand crank.  However two sales people pounced and started showing me the machine from a distance, the machine was down some steep steps which I could not manage, now if they had brought it up to my level I might have been the new owner.  But I was not convinced that it was all there, there was something odd about part of the machine.  Perhaps it was just as well as our car was full with a wheel chair in the boot and the back seat full of our luggage, and to fit this in would have been very difficult.  The woodwork on the cover and the base I had never seen before on an antique machine it was like inlaid wood in different colours, but a very pretty machine.

Needless to say if I am ever down that way again I will now go exploring more for fabric places – so far recommendations that way are for Doughty’s in Hereford, and now Tinsmiths in Ledbury.  We love the Malvern Hills such a beautiful place and are not afraid of radiating out to find places.

Thanks again Lizzy.

[HenriettaMaria]

The re-enactment fraternity get through a lot of linen.  Apart from events, which happen in fields up and down the country during the warmer months, there are two big re-enactors' markets in a sports centre in Ryton on Dunsmore near Coventry, in November and March.

See https://www.reenactorsmarket.co.uk/

Herts Fabrics is excellent for linen.  Actually, the chap who runs it lives ten minutes from me and, by appointment, will allow me to come rummage in his store-room (ie, his racked-out garage!).  I always come away with far more than I wanted.  Last time, he flogged me an end of roll of hot turquoise, 45" wide linen for a tenner.  There were five or six metres on the roll - bargain!

[Elnnina]

Thank you Henrietta Maria, that is so helpful.  The lady concerned is quite prepared to go travelling to various places in her quest to find linen as she wants to see and feel this for herself.  She has found one lot almost next door to where she lives but she is still looking.  I believe she was off down to Gloucestershire way and was possibly going to visit the’ tinsmiths’ place that Lizzy mentioned.  I haven’t heard from her for a few weeks.